Beth Ferrier’s Blog

The quilting is done on Pinwheels and Posies. All that is left to do is the binding, and I’ll be sewing that on right after this post is done. Yippie!

I thought I’d use this opportunity to answer some of the questions that have arrived in the comments. So, in no particular order…

Kim asked about batting. Even though I’ve tried other types of batting from time to time, I always come back to Hobb’s 80/20 Heirloom cotton. I buy it by the bolt. I love the drape, and it has just the right amount of loft to show off the quilting design.

Teresa wondered if the ditch stitching interfered with the quilting pattern. I know that some quilters begin by stitching in the ditch between the blocks. When I get to the quilting part I try to look at the quilt as a whole cloth, not a bunch of individual blocks. I stitch in the ditch between the piecing and the background, not between the blocks.

To begin, I stitched in the ditch around the applique using Superior’s Rainbow, color number 837, which I apparently love well enough to buy three times. To answer Louisa’s question, yes, I use free motion stitching and not a walking foot to do the stitch in the ditch. It’s so much easier to do intricate stitching when I don’t have that big foot in the way, and even better, don’t have to keep adjusting the quilt. It’s a great warm-up exercise for me as well, free motion ditching gets me back in the quilting groove.

Since I still hadn’t decided how I was going to quilt the blocks I decided to quilt the background. The fill pattern is a combination of windshield wipers (or bouncing bananas, if you’re a Diane Gaudynski fan like me) and swirls. I used Superior Thread’s Bottom Line in color number 633, it matches the background fabric perfectly. Unlike many of my recent quilts I wanted the quilting to be seen as texture, and not the stitched line, more of a supporting character, not the star of the show.

Along that train of thought, I only stitched in the ditch around the appliques. For that I used Presencia’s Rayon (Article 711, thirty-five weight) in colors 1214 (yellow), 3351 (blue) and 1638 (pink). I also used Sulky’s 40 wt rayon in colors 1276 (green) and 1297 (purple). It’s my favorite thing to quilt veins into leaves but this quilt demanded that I keep the appliques simple.

 I also used the rayon threads to quilt the pieced blocks. I did my current favorite ferns in the chevrons and simple loopy things (technical term for sure) in the squares.

 And more little loopy things in the centers of the corner blocks. I left the rest of the pieced blocks unquilted so that they would have a little more dimension.

To answer Sharon’s question about removing the MicroTach’s tacks, I often remove them while I’m quilting. If I have a thumbnail then I’ll just pinch them off, just like dead-heading a flowering plant. I use a little thread snip to remove the remainders while I’m stitching down the binding. I try to be very careful that the tack parts don’t end up in my sewing machine’s bobbin case. I find them by running my hand over the quilt. The ones I miss are left there for students to find, so I can show them how small they really are.

So, I’m off to bind the quilt. I wonder where I put that binding. Any more questions?

P.S. Don’t forget to read Tuesday’s post on Sister’s Choice and get your comment in by Friday night for a chance to win a project book signed by Emilie Richards!

Finally, finally, time to sew!

So that I can clear the decks for new projects I decided that I needed to finish a few. Yes, yes, that makes me one of those, a dreaded finisher, but I’m a very selective finisher. I admit to many projects that will never be finished. They get filed under “what was I thinking” and ultimately get given or thrown away.

Before the fun can begin we must first baste. This is a hump I still have to talk myself over. After thirty years of pin basting, and the agony that entails, my head still considers it as much fun as a sharp stick in the eye.

First the backing must be pressed and taped down. The pressing wouldn’t be necessary if I had basted the quilt when the backing was pieced. It was that little issue of disappearing seams that lead to a hiccup in the process.

And then my newest best friend, the Microtack basting gun makes very quick work of the basting. I love this thing! Anybody want a thousand number one nickel plated safety pins?

Almost always my first step is to stitch in the ditch, especially around the appliques. I’ve decided that I’m a touchy-feelly quilter. The close contact of guiding the needle around the shapes helps me decide what quilting design to use.

Just for grins I started by outlining the center block. My plan was to stitch that first. But how? Sometimes it helps to flip over the quilt and look at just the outline shapes to determine the design. It was interesting to me so I thought maybe I would trace the outlines onto practice fabric and test drive some patterns.

When I covered the block with this fabric I saw only the values of the fabric, and three concentric shapes. I traced it with water soluble ink just in case it bled through to the quilt top, and then stitched it out.

Just the act of stitching the lines started the ideas flowing about how to exploit the shapes. Interesting, huh? So, as so typical of me lately I started quilting the snot out of it. (That would be the technical term.)

I do like the channel quilting in the middle ring. But still, not quite right. The squares are small, the shapes confined. The fabric is happy and whimsical but this center design is, I don’t know, overwrought maybe?

So back to stitching in the ditch. Listen to the quilt. I know that sounds all artsy-fartsy, but it’s what I do. As I stitch slowly around each shape I study it, imagining stitching on it and in it.

I’m using Rainbow trilobal polyester thread by Superior. It’s one of my favorite threads for quilting because the veriegated colors are so spectacular. It is perfect for stitch in the ditch, giving just a little splash of color and spark, but perhaps it’s too fine for this quilt. Perhaps this project calls for something more substantial.

As I’m quietly and slowly stitching around the shapes I find myself thinking that maybe this happy little quilt doesn’t need a lot of flashy quilting. Maybe just a simple, swirly fill in the background fabrics, and a few understated lines in the applique and blocks, are all it needs.

Maybe for this quilt, less is more. We’ll see.

If you missed out on ordering a fabric kit for Pinwheels & Posies from us, all is not lost. Lisa’s in Stitches in Moro, Oregon is now offering kits. I ordered from them early on when I needed additional yardage for the background of my sample quilt. The fabric arrived quickly and nicely packaged. So, while I have no affiliation with this store, I have been a happy customer.  Click here to see the details on ordering a Pinwheels and Posies fabric kit.

Meanwhile, I’ve made progress on the repair of my sample quilt. I decided that I really needed to know how really widespread the problem was, so I threw the quilt top in the washing machine. YIKES!

The water soluble bobbin thread seemed to be concentrated in the Four-Patch and Diamond Pinwheel blocks. But seams also disappeared in the little accent four-patches. This is the one time I’ve been sorry that my Bernina bobbins hold so much thread.

So, after a little unsewing to remove the messed up blocks I had to decide if I was going to try to fix these blocks or start fresh. Since I hate ripping and had already done more in the last hours than all of last year I decided to start fresh. Truthfully, I’m still finding bits of these blocks in the studio, even in the garden nearby!

These blocks were only partly sewn with the water soluble thread. The best way to fix these guys up was to hand stitch them. It was a great way to refresh my applique stitch, and a terrific reminder of why I like to work by machine.

 But in surprisingly little time the quilt is ready to add in the new blocks. The nice thing about accidentally using water soluble thread in the bobbin is that there are fewer stitches to remove. Thank heavens the Center Pinwheel and the applique were not involved. I do have to admit that I considered completely starting over so I could have the wobbly mess to show during my lecture. I make the mistakes so you don’t have to.

It seems that I have finally risen to the level of my incompetence. While it’s nice to know one’s limits, it’s not so much fun when it involves frustrating customers. Of those who ordered Pinwheels & Posies kits from us, most were wonderfully patient, some understandably disappointed, a couple were downright mad.

It’s hard to believe, but it has only been a month, start to finish.  In that time we have been wrangling bolts,  nearly seventy-five bolts in all. We ordered them in “rounds”, eight bolts of background, three bolts of accent and one bolt each of the twelve colors. Each round would make about sixty kits. When we started I worried that we would ever sell sixty! Every quilter covets yards and yards of fabric, but not all the same fabric! Three rounds later we finally called it done. Every single kit sold.

We cut more than two thousand fat quarters!

And folded them neatly.

Packed them up, ready for their new homes.

To be fair, we never dreamed that the response to the kits would be so big. And we were trying to fill all those orders while I was away on a long teaching trip, and Kent was away on vacation (with me, more on that later) and my crack assistant, Elaine, was away on Spring Break. Geesh. Note to self: don’t advertise kits and then leave town.

Thanks to all who ordered and waited so patiently. Quilters are the very best people in the world.

Truthfully, I am laughing right now. If I think about it too hard, I’ll cry. But it’s so silly a mistake to make that I can’t help but smile.

I have been noticing that some of the seams on the pieced blocks were breaking. What on earth? I figured I must have had a bad needle, or perhaps the machine wasn’t threaded correctly, or maybe even the timing was off. The problem seemed to be in small areas, so I just appliqued them down.

I was really excited this morning to finally finish the applique. The quilt is nearly done! The last step to finish the applique involves a wet towel to make removing the paper easy.

 Oh, no! What’s happening? Is it possible? Why, yes, I used a bobbin filled with water-soluble thread for the piecing. Kent is calling it “gag piecing”. The only good thing is that I won’t be ripping out stitches. I guess it won’t be going to Florida with me.

Yes, yes, I know it’s been a while. At the moment, I’m writing from a lovely hotel in Huntington Beach, CA. I left subzero weather in Saginaw on Sunday. On Monday my sister and I were tooling around LA, in her oh-so-cool convertible sports car, with the top down, of course. Everything is blooming and beautiful and warm here, a sneak peak at the springtime still months away back home.

Lori and I had two wonderful days of play before the Orange Grove Quilt Guild meeting this morning. It isn’t often that guild engagements bring me closer to family, but it’s a real treat when it does. The guild meeting was fun and crazy. What a terrific, talented group! Tomorrow will be a big day, too, with a Hand Applique by Machine class for OGQG and then a lecture for Quilters by the Sea.

 So, what have I been doing the last couple of weeks? Lots of stuff, if you’ve got a minute, I’ll catch you up.

There’s the block of the month. The sample is almost done. The top is pieced, the applique motifs are all prepared and some are already stitched to the top. I’ve finally been able to figure out the yardage for the kit, and it’s now available to order.

Planning for a kit requires careful consideration. There needs to be enough fabric for the project, obviously, but how much extra for wiggle room for small mistakes? Can I really cut the pieced blocks and still have enough left to make the all the leaves or flowers I need? Once I had all the parts were cut out I could be sure that the kits would be just right, and the fabric order was placed. As soon as I get back from California we’ll be cutting kits like crazy. In fact, so many kits have been ordered that we’ll be placing another fabric order just as soon as the first kits are shipped!

The first step of the Pinwheels and Posies will be posted on February 15th. My wonderful hubby-webmaster is holding down the frigid fort while I’m off galavanting in sunny California. Make sure that we’re ready to rock and roll come Friday.

Let’s see, what else. Oh, yeah, there’s the fabric line. We had one more round of strike offs, and then the final choices were made. In an hour on the phone with my project manager we went print by print through the stike offs and made the final call on which patterns in which colors will be printed. The exciting news is that the order has been placed and in a couple of months I’ll have the first yardage in my hot little hands. How cool is that!

Now the fun begins. The design for the new block of the month is complete. The fabric has been selected. Let the sewing commence!

A palette of thirteen cheery fabrics were chosen from that glorious stack of more than seventy-five different prints. A pretty pale aqua will sparkle as the overall background. I can hardly wait to get started.

 Yes, we will be offering kits this year. The details will follow in the next week or so. We’re on track to begin on February 15th.  The introduction pages with the particulars should be up on the web page soon. Stay tuned!